Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations

Study Challenges Need For Employer Mandate

The report by the Urban Institute offers rationales for dropping the mandate that requires large employers to provide health insurance for full-time workers. Meanwhile, another analysis finds that while federal grants to states for health care are up, they are down for other categories.

NPR: Study Questions Need For Employer Health Care Requirement
When the Affordable Care Act was unveiled, business groups railed against the provision that requires companies with 50 or more employees to provide health insurance for their full-time workers. The Obama administration responded by pushing back the deadline for the coverage, so it hasn't yet taken effect. Now support for this so-called employer mandate is eroding in some surprising quarters. A study called "Why Not Just Eliminate the Employer Mandate?" has been published by the Urban Institute, a center-left think tank based in Washington, D.C. It lists a number of reasons why dropping the mandate might be a good idea (Ydstie, 5/28).

The Washington Post: Federal Grants To States Up For Health Care, Down For Everything Else
The federal government has paid out about 20 percent more to states since the start of the recession, an increase that's almost entirely driven by exploding health-care costs. Federal spending on health care spiked 34 percent between 2008 and 2014, though it dropped in nearly every other category, according to an analysis by the Pew Charitable Trusts (Ferris, 5/28).

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